


Seven's a Crowd

by Cefhclwords



Series: Parent Deledier [6]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, Kissing, M/M, Parent Deledier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:27:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cefhclwords/pseuds/Cefhclwords
Summary: A Day in the Dier household, four kids, three dogs and Dele and Eric trying to figure it all out.“Alright, alright loves, my nose is very funny” Eric cooed, voice thick from the twins squeezing his nose shut.“Nose” Hazel laughed happily, and Eric smiled, shook his head free.“Babe, where’s dad?” Eric asked Hudson and blew a raspberry against his cheek.“You kick him out?” Eric asked and Hudson laughed, cheeks bunched up as he shook his head quickly.“Nuh-uh” Hudson laughed, “silly daddy” he mumbled, slapped Eric’s nose for good measure.“Where did he go then, Hud? What did you do with my husband?” Eric asked with wide eyes, making Hudson giggle again, little hands moved to grab Eric’s face in his hands.“Daddy sleepin’” he replied in a huff like it was obvious.
Relationships: Dele Alli/Eric Dier
Series: Parent Deledier [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1396312
Comments: 10
Kudos: 56





	Seven's a Crowd

**Author's Note:**

> hi loves!!  
> hope you are well and safe!!! something sweet and overly domestic that I really hope you like! kudos and any comments would really mean so much to me right now <3 I'd love to know what you think good or bad!!! love you all very much!

“Daaaaddy!!” Hazel’s voice came belting out from down the hall and Eric looked up quickly, the tone of her voice a hint of an impending full-scale meltdown. 

“Uh-oh” Hugh mumbled as he looked up too, the sound of tiny baby feet slapping against the hardwood floors ringing out as Hazel came running toward them.

“Uh oh is right bud” Eric laughed softly, picked up Hugh from lap and placed him down beside him, “keep building away bud” Eric smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head. 

Hugh continued happily to find the pieces of lego needed to complete the spaceship they were making together. The eight-year old’s brown eyes were scanned the large piles of lego eagerly, fingers grabbing at a small red block he was after with a beaming smile. 

Eric turned away from him to face the hallway as Hazel rounded the corner, running as fast as her two-year-old legs would take her, hair a caramel coloured mess around her flushed face. Her big round eyes were full of tears, streaming down her cheeks and her bottom lip was pushed out in a full pout. 

“Daddy!!” she wailed out again, her voice nothing short of heartbreaking as she launched herself into Eric’s chest, letting out a whine. 

“Hey, hey, Haze what’s wrong?” Eric cooed and scooped his daughter up to his chest, petting at her back as he felt her tuck her little face away into his chest. 

It wasn’t a proper ‘I’m hurt’ cry, so Eric at least knew he wasn’t about to have another ‘dad Hugh slammed my finger in the door incident’. That had been a long night at the medical centre. 

“She hurt Cowie!!!” Hazel whined, the words muffled, but Eric able to just make them out. 

“What do you mean bug? I’m sure Cowie is ok” Eric kissed the side of her head and pulled back, trying to get a look at his daughter and cowie who was clasped tightly to her chest. To hear cowie was ‘hurt’ made Eric’s blood run cold. 

The matching cow soft toys that Hudson and Hazel had, one white and one brown, both called Cowie, were the little ones most prized possessions. They didn’t go anywhere without them, no the grocery store, not to see their uncles, not even downstairs in the morning without one chubby fist wrapped tight around Cowie.

Both the Cows had been a gift from Daisy given to them the day they were born. It had stayed tucked in the corner of their cots every day until out of the blue, the twins both seemed to become extremely attached to them. 

The cows become essential for the babies to be relaxed and happy and sleeping, they would be tucked in next to their swaddles bodies, a tiny hand holding onto the soft material. Hell, the cows even had their own place at the dinner table, and also got goodnight kisses from Eric and Dele at the twins demands. 

All of that considered, and including the memories of some past scares of the cows going missing (thankfully to be found again), the prospect of anything happening to Cowie was beyond frightening. 

“Daddy it was Harper!! hurted cowie” Hazed whined, rubbed her face against Eric’s chest as he let out another little sob breaking his heart into pieces. Nothing worse was than the sound of any of his kids upset. 

“Hey hey, shh Hazey, take a breath ok? And then we can have a look at cowie ok? You know your dad knows how to fix everything” Eric cooed to her, pressed another kiss to the side of her head and rocked her slightly as he gave her a cuddle to help her settle. 

Hazel’s loud sobs began to settle, just sad whines and sniffles and Eric pulled back, sat down and placed Hazel on his knee, petting down her back gently. 

“Alright baby, lemme see Miss Cowie then please,” Eric asked as he gently brushed Hazel’s hair from her eyes, tucked it behind her ears and pressed a kiss to her flushed cheek. He picked up the bottom of his shirt and used it to gently wipe away the leftover tears and picked her chin up with his fingertips. Hazel sighed and lifted Cowie up, her big brown eyes full of worry as she looked at her soft toy. 

“Alright let’s see her” Eric hummed, took the precious toy in his hands, Hazel slumped into his side with her face smushed into his shoulder. Eric cradled the toy in both hands, and bit into his bottom lip when he saw just how precious Cowie had been hurt. 

There was a gash along its stomach, where the stitches had torn apart and thick stuffing had begun to spill out, and the stitching holding in one horn had been ripped half off, hanging sadly. 

“Oh no, Hazey, It does seem like Cowie love has had some damage doesn’t she?” Eric said softly, tucking some of the protruding stuffing back into the soft toy. Hazel pulled back and looked up at him then, eyes full of tears again, bottom lip pushed out. 

“Cowie hurted bad dadda!!” she huffed, pointing to the rip in its stomach. 

“Hey, hey Hazel, it’s alright though” Eric cooed, kissed her nose and cheek. “Because, did you know your dad actually is very very good at taking care of Cows?” 

Harper looked up at Eric with wide-open eyes, her bottom lip dropped open. 

“Really?” she asked, sad gaze looking hopeful suddenly. 

“Yes actually, your dad is very very good, remember how good he took care of me when I got hurt?”

Hazel nodded, her little hand reached out to rest on Eric’s calf, patting once. 

“Big ouchie” she mumbled, the twins even in their young age had been very worried about their dad’s injury and had given kisses over his bandages every morning to help fix it. 

It hadn’t been the worst injury, an incident with a gardening implement that had left Eric with six new stitches along his calf, but Dele had been terrified at the chance of it getting infected. He’d taken the role of total caretaker, cleaned the wound every four days as the surgeon instructed and wrapped it up in fresh bandages good as new each time. 

“Yeah, and remember your dad was so good at taking care of it wasn’t he?” Eric asked and Hazel nodded. 

“Well, I think Miss Cowie will be just fine after your dad sees to him” Eric explained, hoping the small sewing kit his mother had thought to give them was still tucked away safely somewhere in the washroom. Dele would be able to make the repairs, they had both gotten better at it after the whole four kids and three dogs thing, there tended to be many torn shirts and shredded jeans, but Dele had the steadier hand. 

Speaking of, Eric could hear the bounding of more small footsteps and the clatter of dog paws coming down the hall. He spared a glance over Hazel’s head to Hugh, who just looked up and gave a small shrug and a smile, happily still playing with his Lego’s. 

Hugh was a good boy, the best, the best big brother always patient and understanding when his three younger siblings needed attention. Eric would make sure they had extra time to finish the lego tonight, after dinner. 

“Dad it wasn’t my fault!! Noey got a hold of him I was trying to help!!” Harper called out as she rounded the corner, decked out in her Rapunzel dress and a bucket hat she usually wore to the beach, one sock on her foot. 

Eric didn’t even blink twice, the rapunzel dress had been a staple in Harper's everyday wear since they watched Tangled a few weeks ago. At least she was out of the phase of wearing it to sleep, so they were able to wash it more frequently now. 

“Daddy I promise!” Harper rushed closer to them, coming to stand on Eric’s other side with her hands on his shoulder, eyes wide. Noela came sadly padding in with her ears and tail down, looking like the picture of guilt. 

“Hazey I’m sorry! It wasn’t me I promise I’d never hurt Cowie” Harper said earnestly, her bottom lip pushed out. Eric smiled and handed cowie back to Hazel, and reached to tug Harper onto his other knee. 

“It’s alright Harps, I believe you” Eric smiled, he could even see a small bit of stuffing on the chocolate brown labrador’s mouth. 

“Did you hear that babe? Harper was just trying to save Cowie ok? She knows how special she is” Eric spoke and Hazel looked up shyly and nodded, sticking her thumb in her mouth as she looked up at Harper. 

“Sorry” Hazel mumbled around her thumb, leaning into Eric’s chest. 

“It’s okay Hazel, is Cowie ok?” she asked softly, reached out to pet her hand over her sister’s hair. 

“Dadda says we fix him” Hazel mumbled, words muffled as she spoke around her thumb. 

“Thank you saving her” she added with a smile. 

“Okay good” Harper smiled with a nod, leant up to smack to a kiss to Eric’s cheek. 

“Noey should be in big trouble daddy!” she frowned and Eric nodded, “Yes love, I’ll tell her” Eric assured her. 

“Dad!! Look! I made the wing!” Hugh’s voice called out and Eric turned to face him, his girls still piled into his lap. 

“Oh nice job H! You don’t even need my help do you mate?” Eric beamed. 

“Daddy! Cowie hurt!!” Hazel whined, her hands fastening a tight grip into the front of his shirt and pulling hard, big eyes full of worry for her soft toy. “Yeah babe, we are going to get her fixed up real soon hang on” Eric soothed her, picking her up onto his hip. 

“Dad, can we watch Tangled? Pleaseeeee” Harper asked in a whine, climbed off Eric’s lap and moved to sit by Hugh, reaching out for a few bits. 

“Harper don’t! You’ll mess it up! I’ve been working for ages, dad she’s gonna ruin it” Hugh whined, Harper sighed and rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to reply. Eric swooped in and was quick to grab the remote. 

“Hey, Harper, Tangled time yeah? Hop up on the couch love, let Hugh continue his hard work ok?” he asked, quickly pulling up tangled on Netflix, thankful to see that the five-year-old was curled up on the couch happily, pillow cradled to her chest. 

“Thank youuu” Harper bellowed out happily, a smile so big her cheeks scrunched up full and bright. Eric sighed, one issue dealt with, two more to go. Eric stood and pressed a kiss to Hazel’s cheek who snuggled closer. 

“Alright Noela, You are in big trouble, outside now” Eric let the dog out the back, she was the trouble maker of their three Labradors. The two boys Koa and Leo were nowhere near as naughty, stole less of the kid’s toys and got up to less trouble. Leo did, however, have the energy of five puppies, and Koa had an affinity for sleeping on freshly washed laundry, but he was overall the calmest and the most protective of the babies. While all the dogs adored the kids, Koa was rarely away from the twin’s sides. 

Eric let out a sigh and turned, ready to go and find the sewing kit and his husband to get Cowie sorted and then dinner started. Oh- the chicken Eric remembered suddenly, mouth dropped open, he was meant to have that defrosting a while ago now. Eric dipped into the kitchen and tugged the freezer open, grabbed the packet of chicken breast and dropped it into the sink. 

“Hud!” Hazel squealed happily, pulling away from Eric’s chest, Eric’s head twisted at the exclamation of her brother’s name, brow furrowed. 

“Dadda” Hudson beamed, his own stuffed toy cow in hand, held tight by a horn, in just a nappy and a t-shirt as his short arms reached up for Eric. 

“Well hey there Huddy” Eric laughed as Hudson ran full pelt at his legs with a happy laugh. 

“Up up up up” Hudson asked, his hands tugging at Eric’s sweatpants. 

“Alright hold on” Eric smiled, swooped down to pick up Hudson and hitch him onto his other hip. 

“Hello little love” Eric smiled when Hudson’s free hand found his cheek and brushed over his stubble with a laugh, wiggling his fingers. 

“Hi” Hudson said back, his green eyes wide and happy, if not a bit sleepy looking. 

“Where did you come from?” Eric asked as Hudson’s hand moved to grab Eric’s nose firmly, giving it a squeeze.  
“Door” Hudson answered as Hazel’s hand reached to wrap over her twins, tugging again to make Hudson laugh. Eric sighed and smiled despite himself as the twins made a game of pulling on his nose. 

“Alright, alright loves, my nose is very funny” Eric cooed, voice thick from the twins squeezing his nose shut.

“Nose” Hazel laughed happily, and Eric smiled, shook his head free. 

“Babe, where’s dad?” Eric asked Hudson and blew a raspberry against his cheek. 

“You kick him out?” Eric asked and Hudson laughed, cheeks bunched up as he shook his head quickly. 

“Nuh-uh” Hudson laughed, “silly daddy” he mumbled, slapped Eric’s nose for good measure. 

“Where did he go then, Hud? What did you do with my husband?” Eric asked with wide eyes, making Hudson giggle again, little hands moved to grab Eric’s face in his hands. 

“Daddy sleepin’” he replied in a huff like it was obvious. 

“Sleeping? And he’s left me here with armfuls of you! How dare he?” he frowned, Dele had taken Hudson to rest for a while, he’d had a nasty cold last week and was still recovering, not quite his usual energetic self quite yet. He’d been needing an extra nap every day to get through it, usually went down for half an hour in the late afternoon before dinner. 

Eric just assumed that Hudson had trouble going down for his sleep or Dele was doing something upstairs, maybe sorting the laundry they’d been avoiding for two days now. 

“Daddy!!” Hazel whined, squirming in Eric’s arms for his attention, her little hand poking hard at Eric’s cheek. “Cowie!! Daddy important.”

Eric sighed and nodded his head, tilted his face down to smooth kisses all over Hazel’s face, “Sorry, sorry, sorry my angel I promise I know Cowie is important!! We are going to take care of her right now we are going to find dad and get Cowie fixed right up” Eric promised, pressed kisses to each of Hazel’s cheeks before he pulled back once more. 

“Go go!!” Hazel beamed

Hudson frowned as he saw Hazel’s cow in her hand, the stuffing half spilling out and the hanging off horn. 

“Oh no” he gasped, looking to Eric. 

“Da! Gotta go to Hospital” except hospital came out more like “ospetal” Hudson mumbled with wide eyes. 

Eric bit back a laugh, kept his face serious and nodded, “well baby, we are okay because Dad knows how to fix this okay? No hospital yet” Eric reassured him and Hudson nodded, leant out to pet the white coloured cow that matched the brown one tucked under his arm. 

“Don’ worry Hazey” he assured his sister, Hazel nodding, looking less teary now with the assurance of her brother. 

With a quick detour to collect the small sewing kit to shove it in his pocket (which thank god had been just where Eric thought it was) Eric was walking upstairs to find his supposedly sleeping husband. 

“Where were you with dad Huddy?” he asked, his arms starting to ache just a bit from the weight of his two youngest ones. 

“Daddy’s room” Hudson answered, pointing his hand out down the hallway with a wiggling finger. 

Eric hummed and made his way down the hall to his and Dele’s bedroom, where the door was slightly ajar, the afternoon sun that was filling their bedroom spilling out into the hall from the gap. 

He shouldered his way into the room, smiling when he spotted the sleeping form of his husband curled up on the centre of the bed. He was on his side, Eric’s pillow tucked under his cheek with a bundled-up blanket near his stomach, where Hudson must have been napping with him before he woke up and made a break for it. 

From the moment the twins had learnt to get down the stairs of their home they were impossible to stop, and as they got older, the pair of two-year-olds had only gotten sneakier. They would always be crawling around everywhere and chasing after the dogs and their older siblings, after each other half the time in their own little world playing a game only they understood. 

Dele’s body was twisted at an awkward angle, laying on his side, but his hips were twisted forward slightly, shoulders set back with his arms bundled up to his own chest. His face was buried deep into Eric’s pillow, his cheeks were flushed red and smushed so that his mouth was parted slightly. His lashes looked long and dark, drew Eric’s eyes down to the faint freckles on the high points of his cheeks. 

He looked younger like this, even with the laugh lines that were becoming notable even when he was relaxed, the scruff on his face a bit messier than he usually kept it. He’d been too tired to bother shaving last week when they were dealing with Hudson’s cold and still hadn’t cleaned it up yet. Eric kind of like it, he wasn’t planning on reminding Dele to shave anytime soon. 

His pair of black sweat pants were twisted around his waist, one side pinned down under his hip between the mattress, revealing the white strip of his boxers and the soft skin of his taut stomach. His jumper (an old one of Eric’s that had long become Dele’s, just a faded black crew neck that had a tear in one of the sleeves from a tangle with a tree during a walk with the dogs) was bunched up around his chest. His stomach filled with each deep breath and he let out a soft sound every few exhales, feet shifting down against the covers.

A feeling of fondness wrapped up around his chest, his heart squeezed as warmth flowed right through to his fingertips. His toes curled down and he had to bite down on his smile, his cheeks bunching as he watched Dele’s nose wrinkle, lips smacking slightly as he shifted on the bed. 

Dele had always been a fidgety sleeper, little kicks of his feet, twists of his shoulders and small grunts, fingers twitching, rolling from his back to his stomach, pulling a pillow over his face. Eric usually solved it by tucking Dele under his body weight to pulling him to his chest, holding him tight till he settled long enough for them to both fall back asleep. 

Dele let out a half-formed mumble and his hand that was flat against the sheets twitched, fingers pushed out and curled loosely around the bottom of the blanket that Hudson had abandoned to go find Eric. The white muslin cloth blanket, patterned with little yellow chickens, twisted around Dele’s fingers, and he tugged a bit closer to his body before he settled once more with a slow exhale. 

“Dada” Hazel babbled happily, one of her little arms reaching out and making grabby fingers at Dele’s sleeping body. 

“Fix cowie?” Hazel asked with wide eyes, looking back to Eric who let out a small laugh. 

“Hang on bug, we need to wake him up first yeah? Shh shh” Eric told the twins, who nodded in agreement, letting out quiet giggles. At least they were trying Eric thought with a smile, gave them each a kiss to the head before he placed them on the edge of the bed. The happily sat with each other, already starting a soft babbled conversation with each other. 

Eric watched fondly as they chatted away to each other, matching cheeky grins as, thick as thieves Eric thought with a fond shake of his head, before he focused on the task of waking Dele up. There was an art to it, that Eric felt he had perfected over the years, god knows if he was woken up the wrong way, grumpy pouty Dele would be hanging around for hours to come. 

Thankfully, if he woke up when the babies needed them, from the sound of them from the baby monitor or Harper climbing into their bed after a bad dream, he didn't have it in him to be grumpy. Hopefully a soft toy cow related emergency would warrant an interrupted nap. 

Eric walked around to the side of the bed that Dele was splayed out closest to, kneeled down on the edge of the mattress and shuffled closer. Dele didn’t rouse at the dipping of the bed behind him, or the noise of their youngest ones chatting, simply let out a content sigh and pushed his face further into the pillow. 

Eric’s heart ached as he watched Dele and he wondered if he should let Dele sleep, just an hour more, he must be tired to fall asleep with Hudson and not wake even slightly at the sounds of them coming into the room. But dinner had to be made, and Dele had promised Harper he’d give her a “Rapunzel braid” tonight and he had Lego to finish with Hugh and the twins needed their bath and god, Eric sometimes wished he had two more hands, or maybe just a clone of himself. 

With a sigh, Eric tucked the ever running list of things they needed to do away in the back of his mind for a moment and reached out and wrapped a palm around Dele’s bare hip, where the shirt had exposed the warm skin. 

He drew his thumb in a lazy circle, Dele’s skin soft under his touch, familiar as it had always been, the curve of Dele’s body, the steady pattern of his breaths, were all as familiar to himself as Eric’s own body. Eric smiled when Dele pushed into the touch, lips parted as he let out a heavy breath, his fingers pushed up further until his touch wrapped lightly around his ribs. 

His fingertips blindly patterned the dark font of the tattoo that laid there, curled over it once more before he ducked his head down so his lips could meet Dele’s ear, his earring a cold press at his bottom lip. 

“Love, you gotta wake up” Eric whispered, drew his fingertips down Dele’s stomach, curled his fingers in to brush his knuckles over his belly button, felt the muscles jump under the feather light touch. 

“Del, my sleepy love” he crooned, pressed his knuckles in and wriggled his thumb against the skin. “Gotta wake up” he muttered, watched out the corner of his eyes as the babies got bored of their conversation, turned instead to see what was taking so long for Dele to wake up. 

“Del, come on, wake up” He urged softly, pressed two kisses to Dele’s temple and turned his cheek to scratch Dele with his beard, the boy finally squirming slightly before his nose wrinkled and his breaths became shorter. 

Eric watched as Hudson began to crawl up the covers towards Dele, Hazel following her brother early on his pursuit to Dele’s legs. 

“If you don’t wake up now, you are going to under a two Dier baby attack” Eric mumbled to Dele, who was slowly waking, his eyelashes fluttered as he drew a long breath in. 

“Dada!!!” Hazel squealed out then and Dele let out a small whimper before his eyes half fluttered open, a quirk of a smile in the corner of his mouth when he saw his babies crawling full pelt toward him. 

“I’m under attack” Dele gasped sleepily, moved his hand to take Eric’s where it was on his stomach, tangled their fingers together and squeezed. 

“Ahh” Dele let out a small cry as Hudson flopped onto Dele’s legs, Hazel close behind. 

“Daddy! Daddy!! Cowie hurt bad dad said you fix!” Hazel babbled to her dad, sat on her bum and held out her soft toy and waved it at Dele who frowned, half sat up sluggishly and reached to scoop Hazel to his side, looking at the ‘injured’ toy as he continued to wake up. Eric moved to fit himself behind Dele on the bed, let the boy lean back into him and anchored an arm around his hips. 

Dele let out a low sigh, pushed back into the warmth of Eric’s body, snuggled back into his chest before he dropped his hand from Eric’s to take Hazel’s soft toy in his hands. “Alright baby, let me see” He said softly, let out a low hum and nodded his head, looked over the toy, before he turned to face Hazel, leant over to press a kiss to the tip of her nose. 

“Well bub, the good news is, Dad was right I can definitely fix her right up no problem” he smiled and Hazel beamed, leant up to smush her lips to Dele’s chin. 

“Thank you dad” she said sweetly. 

Hudson crawled up to be beside his sister, held out his soft toy to her “we share” He said simply and Eric let out a small laugh. 

“That's kind of you babe” Eric beamed, reached out to ruffle his son’s hair who let out a little squeal, his hands reaching up to grip to Eric’s fingers and pulled, distracted by his dad. 

Eric tugged the small bag of sewing supplied from his back pocket with his other hand and dropped it into Dele’s lap. Dele turned back to brush a kiss against Eric’s lips in thanks, before he laid back into his chest, picking up the kit. 

“I should go and check on Harper and Hugh, left him alone with the Lego” Eric explained, pressing a kiss to Dele’s temple. 

Dele nodded, caught Harper as she tried to climb up onto their pillows, asked her to sit still so he could patch up Cowie. She nodded quickly and dropped onto her bum, sat still with eager eyes as Dele moved to thread the needle.  
“You can leave Hud here if you need” he spoke around a yawn. “Sorry I didn’t realise I was tired till I laid down with him, he went to sleep so quick just wanted to close my eyes for a moment” Dele explained. 

Eric shook his head, reached out to stabilize Hudson as he crawled over Dele’s legs with a giggle. Hudson seemed to think he was invincible with the way he threw himself around half the time. 

“It’s alright love, you needed the rest, would have let you stay sleeping if I could man the army myself” Eric laughed and Dele let out a small giggle, shaking his head. 

“Can’t take on the army of Dier’s alone” Dele agreed, knotting the end of the thread before he held the needle between his teeth and tucked the stuffing back into the soft cow. 

“I'll be down soon for Harper’s hair, and entertain all of them while you cook” Dele offered as he took the needle from his mouth to make the first stitch. 

“Daddy up” Hudson asked, made grabby hands at Eric who scooped him up, smothered kisses all over his cheeks, making the baby squeal with laughter. 

“Come on monkey, you’re going to help me cook ok? I think you’re old enough to learn to cook chicken burgers yourself aren't you?” Eric asked, Hudson nodding in agreement with his dad. 

Eric nodded, a smile on his lips as he stood, ducked down to place one last kiss on Dele’s curls before he stood, leaving Hazel with Dele to ensure Cowie’s surgery went well. 

Thankfully, when Eric returned downstairs Harper was still happily on the couch singing along to her favourite movie and Hugh was still sat amongst his lego, piecing it together slowly. 

“Dad!! I need help I can’t find the grey-green bit for the side” Hugh said quickly as Eric stepped into the room, looking up at him with pleading eyes. 

“Hu!” Hudson babbled happily, his name for his big brother since he could say it, the person he wanted to be like most in the world. Hugh smiled at his brother before he looked to Eric for help, determined to continue his work on it. 

“Alright, alright small grey-green bit for the side” Eric repeated, eyes scanning the lego spread out on the carpet. 

“Hey Hugh, once we find this bit bud, do you want to help me and Hudson cook dinner? Then I promise you and me can work on this together after” Eric offered, spotting the piece he assumed his son was looking for and offered it to him. Hugh beamed and attached it to the intended spot, looked up at Eric.  
“Ok” Hugh agreed, eager to help his dad with big boy tasks. 

Eric settled Hudson down on his feet, Hugh easily taking his little brother's hand to walk with him to the kitchen. 

“Daddy can I help too?” Harper asked, looking away from her movie. 

“Of course babe!! You are the best at setting the table after all” Eric nodded, the troop of little Dier’s following behind him into the kitchen. 

The thick red glob of tomato sauce that has dried into the fabric of Eric’s shirt has become so solid Eric is certain that it’s a permanent fixture now. He shrugged and hoped desperately the mix of cleaning liquids he poured into the washing machine would do the trick for the heavy stains over the load of clothes he was piling in. That was the only downside of when the kids helped make dinner, the mess was unparalleled. 

Eric reached behind himself to grab the neck of his shirt and pulled it up over his head and tossed it in with the rest. The cool air of the home against his bare skin made goosebumps prickle and his toes flexed out against the tiles. He hooked the fingers of his left hand on his right shoulder, as he lazily pressed at the buttons to get the machine running, hot wash heavy soil, set to dry after, and god please let it all be clean in the morning. 

The low hum of the washing machine began to whirl in the laundry room and Eric drew in a long breath, let his eyes slip shut and leant his back against the counter. There was a low throb in the base of his skull, a tension along the line of his shoulders from sitting on the ground hunched over to build with Hugh. he dropped his head back and rolled his shoulders forward in a slow circle. 

Dinner had been a messy but happy affair as always, a third of the twins' meals going to the dogs in their messy attempts to eat, but each of the kids had cleaned their plate (chicken burgers were always a hit) and they still had enough for leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Eric still needed to pack up the remaining Lego, only to be unpacked tomorrow morning, had a few emails in his inbox needing replies sooner rather than later, and he still needed to shower off the feeling of another long busy day. 

Growing up in a big family, Eric was sort of used to the special brand of chaos, a family all piled together, all needing and wanting different things from their parents, trying to find a balance, minimise fights about who got the first bedtime story, make sure everyone felt listened to. However, that didn’t stop the exhaustion that hit after a particularly long day and during school break when all the kids were home together and needed full days of entertainment. Not to mention the most time he’d gotten with Dele was waking him from his nap earlier and sitting next to him at dinner, hands linked under the table between cleaning up spills and refilling cups.

They had split up the bed duties, let the twins have quiet play in their room while they split up and got Hugh and Harper ready for sleep. Harper taking fifteen minutes to pick her bedtime story was all made up by the sweet “love you dadda” she had given him with a sloppy kiss on his cheek and a big smile, and the soft “dinner was very yummy” that followed it, her soft sleepy eyes looking up at him. 

He still couldn't understand when his first baby girl had gotten so big, had her own interests and personality, loved princesses and hated shoes, loved playing football with her family but found the games so long and boring to watch. She was a great sister to her siblings, would try to make sure everyone was included, offer to help her dads anyway she could. 

The twins were an easy routine, a bath that went quick when Eric and Dele were both there to do it, into pyjamas and then their neighbouring cots with their favourite story and lots of kisses. Hazel's newly repaired Cowie was tucked under her arms tightly, her face smushed into the soft white fur. Eric didn’t know what had happened in the past few years, but Eric found it inexplicably hot that Dele was able to repair their daughters most beloved toy without any trouble. 

Eric took a slow breath in and twisted his upper body to the left and then the right, let out a small grunt without realising as the throb in the base of his skull pulses down between his shoulders, He’d woken up late to do his workout that morning and had rushed his stretching, something he was regretting now. 

The thought of a hot shower made Eric’s mind fog, daydreaming at the idea of water running down his back, getting into bed. God, he’d kill for that. A pair of hands pressing to the low of Eric’s stomach made him grunt in surprise, muscles jumping at the unexpected sensation. 

Eric kept his eyes closed and blindly reached out for Dele, fumbled to fit his hands to Dele’s hips, pulled him into his body with a long sigh. “How are you handsome?” Dele’s voice was soft from where his face was tucked into the curve of Eric’s neck, lips dragging against the warm skin. Eric let out a groan, slid his hands across Dele’s back to wrap around him tighter, pulling them so they were flush against each other. 

“Tired, sore” Eric mumbled, wrapped Dele up in his body, hunched over to bridge the slight gap in height to press his forehead to Dele’s shoulder, swaying them slightly as he took a deep breath in. He felt Dele’s smile against the hinge of his jaw as Dele’s socked toes moved to press over Erics’s bare ones. 

“Told you, you gotta do Lego on the table, gonna ruin your back” Dele muttered, his hand moving to smooth across the line of Eric’s shoulder, palm dragging over the bare skin. Eric grunted, pushed at the hem of Dele’s jumper to touch skin, skimming up to cradle Dele impossibly closer. 

“I know, but H had it all set up and was so excited and I could see in Hazle and Harper playing from where we were” Eric replied, tilted his head to press a kiss over the soft fabric of Dele’s jumper, able to feel the strong line of his collarbone under his mouth. 

“You’re a good dad” Dele cooed, his hand moved from Eric’s back up to his hair, slowly combing through his hair, scratching lazily at his scalp. “I try keep them alive” Eric chuckled, pulled back far enough to look at Dele, the familiar soft brown of his eyes, the pink pout of his lips.

“Good surgery today doctor” Eric smirked, smudged a kiss to the corner of Dele’s mouth as it grew into a pretty smile. 

“Thank you very much” Dele nodded with a blink. 

“Cowie was a great patient I have to say, and my assisting nurse Hazel was just a dream to work with” Dele spoke with a hum, Eric muffling a laugh into Dele’s shoulder. 

“I was worried for a second there, If Cowie goes down, then this whole household goes down to you know that right? The twins would revolt, easily get Harper and Hugh on their side, and well the pups are total pushovers for them-” Dele cut Eric off with a firm kiss, laughing into his mouth.  
“Don’t worry Dier, saved the day as per usual, the household hierarchy remains intact” Dele breathed out as he pulled away, turned his head to the left to let out a yawn. 

“Bed?’ Eric asked, his hands moved to meet at the low of Dele’s back, tugged his hips in so that Dele had to lean back so as to not be swept off his feet quite literally. 

“Shower, then bed” Dele corrected, his hand now on the back of Eric’s neck, nails scratching lazily over the skin in a way that already had Eric’s eyes drooping. 

“Can’t we shower some other time” Eric huffed, moved to press his face to Dele’s throat, pressing lazy kisses to the skin, a messy pattern of lips. 

“No we can’t, remember that speech that you gave Hugh about how important showers are? Especially for growing boys” Dele mumbled, the feeling of his voice rumbling against Eric’s lips on his neck. 

“Oh and I’m a growing boy?” Eric smirked, dragged his teeth against a stray freckle. 

Dele nodded, wrapped his arms around Eric’s neck and tugged himself upright from where Eric had him bending back.

“You are, you definitely got a bit taller recently and you eat like a growing boy too”

Dele let out a small peal of laughter when Eric’s fingers dug into his sides, ticking him in a way that made him twist his hips to avoid it, gasping out and kicking his feet down as he squirmed. 

“No, no, no” he whined, gasping out between laughter for air, he stomped his feet down against Eric’s toes to try and free himself. 

“Mercy, mercy, mercy baby stop” Dele whined, and Eric finally gave it a rest, caught Dele around his hips and caught him in a kiss. 

Dele pulled back and caught Eric’s face in his hands, smushed up his cheeks in the way that Eric hated. 

“Shower” he mumbled before his hands dropped to Eric’s sweats, tugging at the waistband. 

“You’re halfway there, just gotta get the pants off and we can have nice, hot shower, lie down, in our nice comfortable bed together, if your lucky, you might even get a kiss before we go to sleep” Dele crooned 

Eric gasped, mouth dropped open and he raised his eyebrows twice in quick succession. 

“A kiss??” Eric asked, his hands tightening at Dele’s hips, before he bent at the knees and shuffled forward to hinge Dele over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. 

“Eric” Dele gasped out a laugh, pinching at Eric’s lower back as he tried to muffle his laughter, not wanting to wake the kids as Eric carried them upstairs. 

“Eric” Dele laughed out again as they reached the bedroom and then their ensuite, let out a grunt as Eric placed him down on the counter. “You’re an idiot” Dele laughed, poked at Eric’s stomach who just grinned and leant in closer. 

“M’just trying to get to the part where I get a kiss” Eric smirked as he stepped back, hands dropping to his sweats, pushing them down his body to step out of them. 

Dele’s eyes followed Eric as he stripped out of his boxers, turned to walk toward the shower, all broad shoulders and tall frame. Dele climbed off the counter and locked the bathroom door with a press of his thumb, just to ensure no tiny intruders. 

The sound of running water filled the room and Dele stripped out of his clothing piece by piece, dropping them as he padded across the room to the shower. They had learnt to make the best of their time together when they could have it, and even half-asleep on their feet from a long day. Besides, the image of his husband stood in their shower, hot water pouring down around his naked body, tired after a day of taking care of the family they’d built together- there was nothing better.


End file.
